New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell Indicted After Federal Corruption Investigation

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted Friday connected national charges of defrauding nan metropolis while trying to support her romanticist narration pinch a constabulary serviceman a secret, prosecutors said.

Cantrell is charged pinch conspiracy to perpetrate ligament fraud, conspiracy to obstruct justice, making mendacious statements and mendacious declaration earlier a expansive jury, according to a national indictment revenge Friday successful nan U.S. District Court successful nan Eastern District of Louisiana.

Shortly aft nan news broke, a lawyer for Cantrell told NBC News they had not yet seen nan indictment and had nary comment.

Prosecutors allege that Cantrell was successful a romanticist narration pinch Jeffrey Paul Vappie II, who served connected nan New Orleans Police Department's executive protection portion connected occasions from May 2021 to April 2024.

“To hide their relations from discovery and to maximize their clip together, Cantrell and Vappie exploited their nationalist positions to create and instrumentality a strategy to defraud nan metropolis of New Orleans and nan New Orleans Police Department by engaging successful individual activities while Vappie claimed to beryllium connected work and was paid for,” nan indictment states.

New Orleans City Council President JP Morrell connected Friday offered prayers for Cantrell and her family.

“This is simply a sad time for nan group of New Orleans," Morell said successful a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are pinch nan Cantrell family arsenic they navigate done this difficult time."

Cantrell, a Democrat, is successful her past word arsenic politician and is group to time off agency successful January.

She is nan city's first female politician successful its 300-year history. Her 2nd word has been turbulent, including surviving a callback effort successful 2022.